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The ground shook as a massive explosion erupted, sending everyone — even Sekke — flying through the air. The energy released by the destroyed Arch obliterated everything and everyone below a certain level of strength.
Being the one who attacked the gate, he was also the one closest to the explosion site.
'Did I do the right thing, Vritra?' asked Sekke.
'Who knows? The only thing that matters is—did it feel wrong to take this path?' replied Vritra.
The dragon had lived for millennia and knew that there were times when there was no clear "right" answer. In such moments, following one's heart was often the truest choice.
Sekke remained silent as the explosion engulfed him.
The Soul Superiors, watching from a distance, could only stare in horror. Never in their wildest dreams had they expected such devastation.
"YOU DAMN BASTARD!!!" yelled Albert in rage before he too, along with the rest of his soldiers, was consumed by the explosion.
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One Day Later:
The place where the dimensional gate once stood was now nothing more than a massive crater stretching several hundred kilometers across.
Then, in the center of that crater — where the gate had existed — a translucent, rune-etched door appeared. From it stepped out Sekke, yawning and stretching his arms.
[Bronze Magic: Eternal Safe]
Sekke looked back at the glowing gate of his trusty magic that had saved his life and sighed in relief. Then he turned to take in the sight around him — an endless crater, silent and lifeless.
"I really dodged a bullet there," he muttered, thanking his quick thinking for diving into the magical storage at the last second.
Closing the gate, Sekke summoned another spell. Mana gathered around him, humming in resonance.
[Bronze Creation Magic: Bronze Rider — Flight Mode]
A sleek bronze hoverboard appeared beneath his feet. Sekke stepped onto it and took to the air, flying over the crater, marveling at the sheer magnitude of destruction he had caused.
He eventually reached a nearby town and began walking through the streets.
The city itself appeared untouched — no visible damage, no corpses, no debris — yet the atmosphere was grim. The people's eyes were hollow, their movements sluggish, as if a shadow hung over their souls.
After gathering what little information he could, Sekke left and hopped back on his hoverboard.
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Following the direction his mana sense guided him, he soon arrived at a sprawling compound — the HQ of the Young Masters.
Without hesitation, Sekke landed at the entrance and walked in. Dressed in the same white uniform as them, he drew little suspicion.
But the deeper he went, the more he noticed it — the tension in the air, the grim expressions, the hopelessness.
Using his mana sense, Sekke easily located the chamber where the captains were gathered. As he approached, whispers spread — people began recognizing him.
"Stand down. I'm not here to fight," said Sekke calmly, releasing a wave of mana to keep everyone frozen in place.
He knocked on the giant double doors, waited, and entered the grand chamber.
"Sup," greeted Sekke casually as he stepped in.
Albert's eyes widened slightly. "So you survived…"
"Yeah," Sekke replied, taking a seat at the large table. "You all look pretty grim."
Merrick spoke next, his tone heavy. "You've heard the situation, then?"
"Walked through a town, saw the faces, asked around," Sekke said with a shrug.
Albert's expression darkened. "Three days. That's all this world has left. 'In three days, the world that has lost its purpose will be reset.' Because of your little stunt, this world's purpose is gone — and so it will reset, along with every living thing on it."
Sekke exhaled slowly. "So it really came to that, huh…"
He remembered what the Will of the World had told him before — that reset was the worst possible outcome.
"It's all because of you!" shouted Xander, slamming his hand on the table.
Sekke frowned. "How the hell is this my fault? You guys were already screwing things up long before I showed up."
"It's because you destroyed the dimensional gateway! Because of your actions, our world and our people are doomed!" yelled Xander, voice trembling with fury.
Sekke's eyes narrowed. "You attacked me first. You dragged me here. You threatened to invade my world. I only fought back. All I ever wanted was to go home." His tone grew colder with each word. "Now even that's gone."
The captains fell silent. The pressure from Sekke's mana alone was enough to make the room tremble.
"…Why are you here?" Merrick finally asked.
Sekke took a breath, calming his anger. "I wanted to confirm if the rumors were true. About the world resetting. And who better to ask than the ones who broke it?"
Albert scoffed. "So you've confirmed it now?"
Sekke smirked faintly. "What, still want to fight me?"
"There's no point," Albert said bitterly. "Without the gate, we can't contact the gods. Without them, harvesting the dragon's soul means nothing."
"Good for me, then," Sekke muttered. "Guess I can relax these last few days."
He looked around the chamber — his eyes stopped on an ornate throne at the far end of the room. "What's that for? No one's sitting there."
The captains' expressions softened with nostalgia. Albert gazed at the throne for a long moment before speaking.
"That seat belonged to the greatest Soul Superior of all time — my teacher, and the original head of this organization."
The others looked surprised. The old man never talks about him, and now speaking about this matter in front of a stranger.
Albert himself was surprised. He never expected himself to talk about this matter ever again and yet here he was, talking to the man whom they were set to kill for a past few days.
"Was he strong?" asked Sekke, feeling that the old man wanted to talk more about this teacher of his.
"Strong? Haha, he was epitome of the word strong. He could even destroy a world if he ever went all out. He was a mana king after all." said Albert cheerfully and then looked at Sekke.
He stared at him for a while and said, "You could have been one as well."
Sekke looked at him with a curious look. What did he mean by that.
"What could I've been?"
"A mana king."
"What are those?"
Hearing this discussion, the rest of the soul superiors looked at Sekke with shocked expressions except for Merrick. He somewhat guessed it, but still he felt amazed and bit of pity for the man.
"How old are you?" asked Merrick.
"Sixteen," Sekke replied flatly.
Hearing that Merrick sighed while the rest of them looked at Sekke with incredulous expression on their faces. A man- no a boy not even two decades old was so overwhelmingly strong. They couldn't belive that.
But now they understood what Albert meant when he said, that the human could've been a mana king. If he had enough time, he would have eventually reached that level.
"So what's a mana king?" asked Sekke once again ignoring the shocked expressions of the captains.
"Ahem. You, do you know that mana exists in every part of the world?" asked Albert.
"Yes."
"But despite it being present everywhere, there are places where the concentration of mana is way more comapred to other regions. These regions are places which are favoured by mana and hence mana gathers there abundantly."
Sekke nodded in understanding.
"For people and creatures too. Mana is present in almost all beings, some have more some have less. But among them too there are cases of beings called "People loved by mana"." said Albert.
Sekke nodded, already knowing such things. He too after all was one such being.
"Now tell me, What is love?" asked Albert.
"..." Sekke turned silent not knowing what the old man was getting at.
"A feeling of fondness?" replied Sekke.
"Correct, but tell me how much feeling of fondness results in love?" asked Albert.
"Hmm? I don't know. Is there such a threshold in the first place?" asked Sekke.
Hearing his question Albert smiled. His master taught him the same way.
"Correct. There is no such measure or threshold. A person can be fond of a flower that he saw on the way and can say that he 'loves' that flower. A person can also be fond of his beloved and say that he 'loves' them. The levels of fondness is indeed different but the fact that the person loves both of things remains the same. The same could be concluded for mana." said Albert.
"Mana too can have varying degrees of love. 'Love' for beauty, 'Love' for appearacne. 'Love' for a friend. 'Love' for a king..." said Albert in a dramatic tone.
"Mana exists everywhere, but only some are favored by it. Among those, a few are beloved. Their every breath draws mana toward them — not through force, but through affection." said Albert.
"Like a king loved by his subjects," Sekke summarized.
"Exactly," Albert said with a small smile. "That love is limitless — and so is their power."
Sekke leaned back, lost in thought. If things had gone differently… if he'd had more time… maybe he could have reached that height.
"But if your Mana King was that strong," Sekke asked, "why isn't he here? Don't you people live practically forever?"
The atmosphere around them turned heavy.
Albert's eyes darkened. "Not all kings are benevolent. My teacher took a… darker path."
He stopped there. The silence that followed was enough for Sekke to know not to press further.
Then, the ground began to shake violently.
"What the—?" Sekke jumped back as lava burst through the floor. He leapt onto his hoverboard, narrowly avoiding the eruption.
The others quickly took to the air as well, dodging molten geysers as the land cracked apart.
"As far as I can see, the ground's collapsing!" Merrick shouted.
'…The world is resetting,' Vritra said grimly.
'Yeah… seems kinda bad,' Sekke replied dryly.
'Kinda?' Vritra snapped. 'You have a terrible sense of understatement.'
Sekke frowned, contacting the Will of the World. 'Hey, uh, Mr./Ms. Will? You seeing this mess?'
'Surprise. You're still alive?' came the Will's flat voice.
'Alive and kicking. So, care to explain why you're resetting the world? Also — me not being part of this world — any chance I get to live?'
'Confusion. I am not resetting the world. On the contrary — something else is causing this chaos. If it's not you, then what is?'
"…""…?""…"
Sekke, Vritra, and the Will all fell silent, collectively realizing something was very wrong.
And then — golden chains erupted from thin air, wrapping around Sekke's body. A massive magic circle appeared above him, glowing with ancient runes.
Recognizing that signature cheap move, Sekke turned toward the captains — who were smiling.
"…So much trauma dumping just to make me drop my guard," Sekke muttered. "Should've known."
[Nightmare Magic: Paralysis Demon's Invasion]
Sekke tried to move, but his body went numb. He fell helplessly, descending toward the lava below.
"Die nicely, human," Albert sneered. "We'll harvest your soul and the dragon's once the world resets. Then, we'll rebuild anew."
Sekke's consciousness began to fade as he sank into the lava, unable to move his body — or his mana.
'Mr./Ms. Will… you should really check the mental state of your so-called "last line of defense,"' he thought bitterly before the molten waves swallowed him whole.